UIW’s Child and Adolescent Research Laboratory recruiting participants for child development study

Ever wonder how we form stereotypes growing up? The Child and Adolescent Research Laboratory (CARL) in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is currently recruiting infants 3, 6, and 10-months-old and children from 4 to 17-years-old to participate in an exciting, new research project. CARL is investigating how infants, children and adults perceive, become familiar with, and come to prefer the characteristics of human faces and certain social behaviors.

“While many people believe that evaluation is taught through socialization, even infants evaluate others based on appearance and behavior, suggesting that it emerges early in life,” said Dr. Teresa Taylor-Partridge, assistant professor of psychology at UIW.

CARL conducts research on the development of infants, children and adolescents with and without autism. With over 15 years of experience in developmental research, Taylor-Partridge directs the CARL. The lab is located on the picturesque campus of UIW and is child-friendly with animal décor and many fun toys for children.

By utilizing a non-invasive cap containing electrodes, the research team will study how brain activity differs for faces and animations of positive and negative social behaviors. The researchers are further interested in differences in brain patterns between children with and without autism due to challenges children with autism often face in social situations. The testing procedure is simple and safe.

Results collected by this research will be important in the understanding of how infants process social information.

“Social evaluation contributes to the formation of stereotypes. While some stereotypes are positive or neutral, many are negative,” said Taylor-Partridge. “If we understand how the brain responds to social information throughout develop, we may find the key to intervention.”

In addition, Taylor-Partridge explained perception and response to faces and social behaviors likely differs between children with and without social impairments such as social anxiety or autism; this project also involves detecting and eventually understanding those differences.

For infants, the child sits on the parent’s lap as researchers show him or her pictures of faces or videos of social behavior while they record infant visual attention and brain activity. As the parent, you are always with your baby and you may stop the session at any time for any reason. The session lasts between 20 to 45 minutes depending on the specific study and your baby’s comfort.

For children and adolescents with and without autism, similar procedures are used; however, the study usually may takes 30 to 60 minutes to complete. Children will be entertained with an iPad or toys. You or the child can stop the study at any point for any reason, which is especially important for children with autism who may decide they are uncomfortable. Children 1 to 3-years-old are typically not included as participants in the study as they usually are not comfortable wearing hats, but CARL is happy to have the child participate if the parent deems appropriate.

“We want everyone who comes to the lab on our campus to have a positive experience,” Taylor-Partridge said.